


If You Want Me, Let Me Know

by allisonmartined



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-03
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 19:59:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/287281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allisonmartined/pseuds/allisonmartined
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Arthur and Morgana co-own the nightclub, The Camelot, Merlin works as a host, Gwaine is Morgana's best friend and Gwen is the object of everyone's affection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Merlin!”  Morgana Pendragon  calls out to him.  Her heels click on the pavement as she walks towards him and it is not the first time that he thinks that she could easily murder him with those shoes.  Literally.  And possibly figuratively.

 

“Morgana,” he says indifferently.  But she knows better.  There is a mischievous gleam in her eye and his stomach does a definitive flip.  That look is never a good sign.  She locks eyes with him for a few moments before clearing her throat and stuffing her hands in the pockets of her pea coat.

 

“We won’t be needing your services today.  I’m afraid Arthur has decided to close the club tonight.”  There is still a gleam in her eyes, like she’s leaving something unsaid.

 

“Oh?” he replies.  He lifts as eyebrow and she laughs.

 

“You know Arthur.  Never a dull moment.  Something about a girl and true love.  Again.”

 

“And you can’t run the club without him, ‘Gana?”   The pet name slips out without his permission and she smiles.

 

“And deal with Arthur’s wrath after I’ve ‘messed everything up’? Nah, The Camelot can do with a day off. And so can you.”

 

“Want to go for a coffee then?”

 

That seems to surprise her and it takes her a moment to answer.

 

“Actually, I’m going to meet Gwaine for a bite.  You should come though.  He keeps talking about how he never sees you anymore now that he isn’t bartending.”

 

Merlin laughs, “He could always call.”

 

They’re walking together now. Her heels clicking on the pavement, her arm brushing against his.

 

“Honestly, I am actually surprised he hasn’t shown up on your doorstep to serenade you by now.”

 

“He knows Gwen would call the police.”

 

She laughs.  “Best flat mate ever.”

 

“That’s what she keeps telling me.”

 

They go on like that for while, her hand almost in his. 

 

They reach the restaurant and Gwaine is talking to some poor helpless girl.  He’s flipping his hair and Merlin has to hold in a laugh.  Morgana rolls her eyes and marches over to Gwaine and his victim.  When Merlin gets to the table, the girl’s gone and Morgana and Gwaine are already in a heated conversation.

 

“Merlin!” Gwaine calls out too loudly, “Tagging along with Morgs, are we?”

 

“Yeah, well.  I heard a certain loudmouthed ex-bartender would be here,” he shrugs.

 

“Oh no, I get it.  You missed me. It’s okay to admit it, Merlin.”  Merlin slides into the booth next to Gwaine. 

 

“So how are things on the home front?” Gwaine asks, waggling his eyebrows.  Merlin shakes his head and Morgana smiles into her glass of water.

 

“Gwen is still not going to date you.”

 

Gwaine sighs over dramatically, “I guess there are more less-perfect fish in the sea.”

 

“Oy!” Morgana protests.

 

“ Come on, Morgs, as if you could ever be just a fish in the sea.”

 

She smiles at her best friend, “Well not in your sea, anyway.”

 

“Right you are.”  He says and then under his breath Merlin hears something that sounds suspiciously like _Now Merlin’s on the other hand_. 

 

There is a shuffle under the table and then a sharp, “Ow!” from Gwaine.

 

Morgana coughs and Merlin laughs and the awkwardness is gone.

 

It isn’t until he’s walking home that Merlin realizes how much he wishes she was walking home with him, that she was holding his hand with her head resting on the curve of his shoulder.

 

 

+

 

 

He’s watching some movie about vampires when Gwen walks in the front door with none other than a drunk Arthur Pendragon tailing behind her.  Her curls are in a messy knot at the top of her head and she’s wearing a very short dress that even he has to notice.  Date attire, in other words.  Gwen is dating Arthur fucking Pendragon. Of course. 

 

“’Ey ‘Erlin,” Arthur grunts with a smile and Merlin looks over to Gwen, incredulously. 

 

“So you’re the reason why I didn’t have work, huh?”

 

Gwen shrugs.  “He’s quite a romantic, you know. I was surprised.”

 

Merlin makes the way to his room before he has to witness anything that he would regret seeing later.

 

 

+

 

 

The club was open the next night and Arthur was nowhere to be found.  Well, he could be found.  He could be found under the desk in his office. But no one but Merlin and Morgana needed to know that. 

 

Morgana was wearing a deadly dress and her hair was left loose so that when she danced her hair fell around her face in a way that made Merlin want to kiss her.  That damn dress and that damn hair.  He hated them both. Except he didn’t and that was worse.

 

Later, that hair tickles his neck as she brings her lips to his ear and whispers, “I hear my brother invaded your flat last night.” Her lips skim over his ear and he’s having a hard time keeping calm.  She is trying to kill him.  He is sure of that now. He gulps.  And he thinks he can feel her smirk. Damn that dress and that hair and those lips.

 

The night ends and the club empties and Merlin sits at the bar.

 

“Can I get a beer, barkeep?”

 

“Sure thing, Merlin,” Lancelot smiles kindly from behind the bar.  Morgana slides in next to him.

 

“Are we drinking?”

 

“Everyone but Arthur,” Gwen laughs, coming out of Arthur’s office. 

 

“Shot of tequila then, Lance!” Morgana says, laughing.

 

Merlin groans inwardly.  This is not going to end well.

 

 

+

 

 

Okay so maybe this was ending well. But for sake of argument Morgana wrapped in his sheets, hair splayed over his pillows, breasts against him, and legs tangled with his was not what he had in mind when he went to work.  Okay maybe it was.  But, that’s beside the point really.  This wasn’t supposed to happen.

 

He woke with her tongue on his collarbone.

 

“Morning,” she smirks.  He responds by rolling her over so that she is on her back beneath him.

 

“Morning,” he says into her hair as their bodies intertwine and she gasps.

 

 

+

 

 

“So, Arthur is in love,” Morgana says as she steps into her dress.  Merlin rolls his eyes.

 

“Of course he is.” He kisses her neck.

 

“You know,” she says pulling him against her, “I think things are going to start to get very interesting around here.”

 

“Start?” he laughs.

 

She kisses him. “Well, even more so.”


	2. Chapter 2

It's not a secret. Not really.  Things just go unsaid and kisses are stolen in back rooms.

 

Every dress she wears is like a tantilizing whisper in his ear.

 

It's worse than before, he thinks.  Before the possibility of touching her, of running his hands up her thighs over the curvature of her breasts, was not something he could even afford to think about.  But now the possibility is so present in his mind that he can't think of anything else.

 

It is quickly becoming a situation.

 

She's sitting at a table in the back with Arthur and Gwaine.  Gwaine's laughing and Arthur's frowning and Morgana is smiling but her eyes are on him.

 

The night stretches on.  And the heated atmosphere of the club only makes him want her that much more.

 

It is quickly becoming a problem.

 

+

 

There is a closet door and her mouth and her leg slung over his hip.  They're melting together, their clothes pulled and stretched so that they have the maximum contact.  Her hair is fisted in his hand and she is making unseemly sounds beneath him.  

 

Their clothes are fixed and she kisses him one last time before opening the door and exiting the privacy of the closet.

 

He thinks Lancelot knows at least.  The bartender gives him a knowing look when Merlin sits down at the bar and asks for a scotch.  

 

Merlin doesn't know how long things can go on like this.  And part of him doesn't care.

 

+

 

It's 3am and there's a knock at his door.  He tumbles out of bed, dressed in sweats and a tshirt.  He opens the door with bleary sleep-deprived eyes.

 

It's Morgana dressed uncharacteristically in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt.

 

"Can I come in?"  She ask softly and he nods without even thinking about it.  He thinks she's been crying, but he can't be sure.

 

They're silent for longer than he can count, but it isn't an uncomfortable silence.  Their hands are intertwined and her head rests on his shoulder.

 

"I told Arthur," she says after awhile.  He waits for her to continue and rubs circles on the palm of her hand.

 

She turns her head so that her chin is resting on his shoulder and he can feel the warmth of her breath on his skin.

 

"He was ... not understanding.  He thinks - he thinks I'm messing with you. I'm not."  He thinks he hears a sob.  He turns towards her, lifts his legs up on the couch, her hands in his.

 

"Okay. I'm not messing with you either."  He smiles and that seems to break free her smile.

 

"Maybe we should have gone on a date first? Before we had sex?"  She looks so fragile, like she's terrified he will say no, that he will kick her out.  He would never.

 

He kisses the back of her hand.  "Maybe," he says softly.

 

They fall asleep on the couch, their hands intertwined, in a war cocoon of them.

 

+

 

It's not easy with Arthur at first.  He is fiercely protective of both of them and Arthur was never very good with change.

 

They gradually force it on him and that seems to help.

 

He is angry less and less until finally he just says "Okay, fine, whatever. But can you guys not snog when I'm in the room. It's gross."

 

Morgana laughs and Merlin has to hold in a smile.

 

"No promises, brother," Morgana teases and Arthur rolls his eyes.

 

+

 

She has partially moved into his flat.  Not officially or anything. What's the rule? Two drawers, half the closet space?  He doesn't care to find out, but he suspects they are creeping dangerously close to that line.

 

His flat is closer to the Camelot, so it's easier she argues.  And he likes having her there.

 

Neither of them cook though.  So there are little takeout containers littering their fridge.  

 

There's a container of Kung Pao Chicken on the bed between them.  There's a beer between her feet and she's talking about something ridiculous that Gwaine had said.

 

"I think we need to set him up, Merlin."  

 

He looks at her pointedly. "Gana. We can't.  He's dated everyone we know."

 

She looks at him coyly. "Not Gw--"

 

"Morgana! No! She'll kill me."

 

She's grabbing his shoulders, "Please! Come on! Maybe he'll shut up."

 

"Haha, yeah, that's going to happen," he sighs, "but okay, I'll ask her.  Why can't you just set him up with Elena or Vivian or someone."

 

She chews on the bottom of her lip.  "Because apparently they're dating each other now."

 

"Really? Huh."  He's actually not that surprised really.  He always did think the amount of attention Vivian gave Elena was somewhat odd for two people that supposedly hated each other.

 

"What about Sophia?" he asks.

 

"He slept with her at that Christmas party last year."

 

"Oh."  He was at that party with his then girlfriend Freya.

 

She nods.  "So Gwen. Last option."

 

"Okay, okay.  Just don't tell him it was me who vouched for him or he'll never let me hear the end of it."

 

She laughs as she lifts her beer bottle to her lips.

 

 


End file.
